Jan 29, 2003
Box Score
By DONNA TOMMELLEO
AP Sports Writer
STORRS, Conn. - It's outside game collapsing, Villanova was forced to play bigger, stronger Connecticut on the inside.
It was the last thing the Wildcats wanted to do.
The second-ranked Huskies got 16 points and a solid post game from center Jessica Moore to run the nation's longest winning streak to 58 games with a 58-38 Wednesday night.
"They're so much smaller than us, that was just a big mismatch," the 6-foot-3 Moore said. "We knew we had that advantage there and the game would be decided in the post."
Moore hit 7-of-10, all in the paint, as the Huskies dominated the inside scoring 28-10. Diana Taurasi had 15 points and seven rebounds.
It was the final tuneup for the Huskies (19-0, 7-0 Big East) before their matchup Saturday with top-ranked Duke, in Durham, N.C. Duke won its 20th straight game, beating North Carolina State 55-44 Wednesday night.
Trish Juhline, led No. 20 Villanova (14-4, 5-3) with 16 points, but made just two of six 3-pointers. The Wildcats led the nation in 3-pointers coming in with 149, but managed just 6-of-21 from beyond the arc against the UConn defense.
"If we don't make 3s, we don't have a chance to win," Villanova coach Harry Perretta said. "And then defensively, we're not physically strong enough to guard their inside players."
All but one of UConn's starters are over 6 feet to make it an especially tough matchup for Villanova's smaller guards.
UConn also took advantage of the Wildcats' long-range misses and outrebounded Villanova 46-22. Barbara Turner and Ashley Battle led the Huskies with eight boards each.
Villanova was looking for its second win over a ranked team after beating No. 15 Penn State last week. Its two conference losses were by a combined three points to Rutgers and Notre Dame, both of whom have been ranked this season.
The Wildcats got off to a quick start. The speedy Juhline made four baskets, including one 3-pointer, in the first four minutes.
"I just thought, `Wow, here we go," Moore said. "She can shoot it from anywhere and she just keeps on moving."
But UConn's Ann Strother countered from the perimeter with a pair of 3s to close the gap to 9-6. After a UConn time-out with 15:32 left, the Huskies starting hitting their inside shots.
Juhline's run ended abruptly when she collided with a driving Taurasi and had to sit out for a few minutes. With Juhline out, the Huskies kicked off a 21-6 run with their dominant post play. They got eight points from Moore in that spurt.
"I love Jessica Moore because she plays so hard," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. "Jessica never, ever cheats you on any possession. And when it starts clicking for her like it has the last couple games, we're a different team."
Villanova made just three field goals the rest of the way, going 7-of-24 and trailing 29-18 at halftime.
Taurasi and Moore combined for all nine points in a 9-4 run to open the second half. Villanova shot 23 percent in the final 20 minutes and got no closer than 11 points the rest of the way.
"Even when our cutters were open a couple of times, we couldn't make a pass to them," Perretta said. "We were just swallowed up by their size."
